For those of you who are dog parents, please read this article. If not a doggie mom or dad, please pass this on to others who are.
Only 3 grams of Xylitol (found in sugar free chewing gum) is
enough to kill a 65 lb dog. And QUICKLY!!!!! Please pass this
warning. It may save a life.
Here is the link to a popular truth or fiction rumor/urban legends site
(www.snopes.com) for further information:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
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Warning to all dog owners, pleases pass this on to everyone you can.
STORY:
Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24
Lb dachshund, just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked
into the den just in time to see her head inside the pocket of
Katie's friend's purse.
She had a guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a
small package of sugar-free gum. It contained Xylitol. I
remembered that
I had recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly for dogs so
I jumped on line and looked to see if Xylitol was the ingredient.
I found the
first web site below and it was the one. Next, I called our vet.
She said to bring her in immediately. Unfortunately, it was still
rush hour and it
took me almost 1/2 hour to get there. Meanwhile, since this was
her first case, our vet found another web site to figure out the
treatment.
She took Chloe and said they would induce her to vomit, give her a
charcoal drink to absorb the toxin (even though they don't think
it works) then they would
start an iv with dextrose. The Xylitol causes dogs to secrete
insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly. The second thing
that happens is liver
failure. If that happens, even with aggressive treatment, it can
be difficult to save them. She told us she would call us.
Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of
her stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar
had dropped from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take
Chloe to another hospital that has a critical care unit operating
around the clock. We picked her up and took her?there. They had us
call the ASPCA poison control for a case number and for a donation
their doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on treatment. They would
continue the iv, monitor her blood every other hour and then in 2
days test her liver function. She ended up with a central line in
her jugular vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our
regular vet had feared.
Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care
hospital. After her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home
yesterday. They ran all the tests again before they released her
and so far, no sign of liver damage. Had I not seen her head in
the purse, she probably would have died and we wouldn't even had
known why.
Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even
knew about it since they are first learning about it too. Please
tell everyone you know about Xylitol and dogs. It may save another
life.
